Eric Allensen's face is scarred from injuries suffered when Scott Altiman "T-boned" Allensen's car at 187 km/h. Altiman was convicted of drunk driving in the case that killed two people and seriously injured Allensen and his girlfriend. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press/Postmedia Network

BY JANE SIMS

LONDON, Ont. — Eric Allensen hiked up his shirt to show the wide scar across his belly.

“I was cut open for four days to stitch up my bowels and what else. I had a hernia from the seat-belt ripping the muscles from my pelvis. I’ve got two screws in there,” he said on the front steps of the London courthouse.

The 26-year-old has a scar on his forehead near his eye. Another on his cheek. All of the injuries are from the horrific crash with impaired driver Scott Altiman, 33, at Dundas St. and Highbury Ave. 14 months ago.

Altiman pleaded guilty in June to two counts of impaired ­driving causing death, two counts of impaired driving causing ­bodily harm, two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Eric Allensen on Friday November 24, 2017 reveals scars from injuries suffered when Scott Altiman “T-boned” Allensen’s car at 187 km/h. Altiman was convicted of drunk driving in the case that killed two people and seriously injured Allensen and his girlfriend. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press/Postmedia Network

Beyond the physical scars, Allensen lost his cousin, Cody Andrews, 23, and his friend, Jerry Pitre, 46, who were in the back seat when Altiman’s car hit them ­broadside at 187 km/h and sliced the car in half.

His girlfriend, Carlie Matthews, 26, was in the passenger seat and “went through hell and back,” Allensen said. A titanium screw holds her pelvis together.

“It’s frustrating. No justice can serve those two boys’ lives,” he said.

And certainly, he said, the four- to six-year sentence in an Aboriginal healing lodge suggested by Altiman’s lawyer to address his client’s Indigenous background at Altiman’s sentencing hearing Friday can’t come close to easing Allensen’s pain and anger.

“It’s a joke,” Allensen said. “And people are just going to keep doing it.”

That echoed the sentencing pitch by assistant Crown attorney Charles Yih, who, in asking for a 10-year sentence and a 15- to 20-year driving prohibition, pointed to a troubling trend, particularly over a 15-month period between July 2015 and November 2016 in the London area, when four impaired drivers, including Altiman, took five lives, all in cases involving excessive speed.

“It’s simply a fact that the message of drinking and driving is not being received by all in our community,” he said, asking Ontario Court Justice John Skowronski to send that message again.

Altiman, who had no criminal record, was driving 187 km/h in a 50 km/h zone at about 2 a.m. with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he slammed into Allensen’s car. Two kilometres earlier, he had been driving the wrong way on Highbury Avenue, almost ending up in a head-on crash.

With multiple victims and “outrageous driving,” the sentence needs to be strong, Yih said.

Scott Altiman, centre, hides behind a group of supporters as he leaves the London courthouse after pleading guilty to two counts of impaired driving causing death and several other charges on Thursday June 8, 2017. MORRIS LAMONT/THE LONDON FREE PRESS /POSTMEDIA NETWORK

Behind Yih, sat many of Andrews’ and Pitre’s friends and family, many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Andrews’ photo.

Impaired driving cases often involve good people who make terrible decisions to get behind the wheel, Yih said.

“Mr. Altiman to that point, was a law-abiding person, a good person in this community.”

Throughout the day, Altiman sat quietly, clutching an eagle feather. Defence lawyer James Melnick pointed to the Gladue principles — legal principles specific to dealing with the over-representation of First Nations people in the ­criminal justice system — and Altiman’s troubled past as reasons not to “crush” the first-time offender.

Several people wear T-shirts featuring an image of Cody Andrews to the sentencing hearing of Scott Altiman in London, Ont. on Tuesday November 21, 2017. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press/Postmedia Network ORG XMIT: POS1711211543090097

He asked that Altiman serve his sentence at an Aboriginal healing lodge within the prison system — a suggestion that brought groans from people in the courtroom — so he can continue his counselling and healing.

Altiman, from Delaware, is a member of the Walpole Island First Nation and has ties to the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.

His history includes grandparents placed in residential schools.

His biological father was a violent alcoholic. His stepfather drank.

Altiman moved off the First Nation at age 11 to London and never completed high school. His parents broke up. He lived in poverty. He was sexually abused at age five, Melnick said.

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